In Buddhism, Amitabha Buddha had made 48 great vows and promises to provide ultimate salvation to countless beings through countless eons, with benefits said to be available merely by thinking about his name with Nianfo practice. He is thus hailed as "King of Buddhas" through such skillful compassion and became a popular and formal refuge figure in Pureland Buddhism.
In music
Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is informally known as The Forty-Eight because it consists of a prelude and a fugue in each major and minor key, for a total of forty-eight pieces.